In the Middle of the Earth
by T'Kerstin
Summary: Inspired by Leonnard Nimoy singing The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins Slash in Middle Earth
1. Chapter 1

You might wanna watch Leonard Nimoy singing "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" on Youtube first. You understand the story without watching it, but it's fun to watch.

I added something to the chapter. More are to follow.

"Damnit, Jim! Where did you get us stranded now?" McCoy asked.  
"I don't know. All I know is that the planet beneath us is inhabited by various humanoid species and none of them is industrialized." Jim answered but then turned to his science officer: "Spock, do you have a safe spot to beam a landing party to?"  
"Yes, I have found a safe location outside a forest. We should, however, dress according to the local dress code," Spock answered.  
"What about those ears of his? We can't explain them," McCoy muttered under his breath.  
"The captain found an explanation once before. I am sure he can find one again," Spock answered and gave Jim a knowing look.  
"Stop it, you two. Just call me when you are ready. I'm going down with you. Knowing you two you'll get in danger and I'll have to fix you back up."  
He didn't give Jim any time to argue with him. Jim ordered Scotty to the bridge to take care of things while he was on the planet. He didn't have to ask if Spock would be coming with him. On some missions there was no way he could persuade him to stay behind and this was one of them. So he didn't even try. A small part of him, which he refused to listen to as yet, was happy that he had Spock by his side. They materialized on a field of grass just outside a dark looking forest. Nobody was near but Jim's instincts told him to be careful. Luckily there was a path leading into the forest and after looking towards Spock he decided to go down that path. The farther they went into the forest the darker it got. But neither Jim nor Spock were frightened by darkness. They just became cautious.  
"Maybe we should rest for the night. It's getting too dark to see anything," Jim suggested.  
"Yes, Captain. But I would advise that someone stays awake. We do not know this world and therefore we don't know anything about its inhabitants," Spock answered.  
"Am I right in guessing that you are the one who wants to stay awake?" Jim asked, smiling. He already knew what Spock was going to answer.  
"I am Vulcan..."  
"... and therefore need less sleep than humans. I know. But maybe you should let the security guards do their job for once." Jim finished his sentence.  
McCoy rolled his eyes. This had been happening more and more over the last few weeks. Jim and Spock were so to each other that they seemed to know what the other was thinking. That was what made them the best command team in the fleet. But he was sure there was more. Much more. He just wasn't sure that Jim and Spock knew that. They had an understanding of each other that went beyond normal friendship. But he sure as hell wouldn't tell them in the middle of a forest on a foreign world where they couldn't feel safe. At least that's what he thought.  
Sometime in the night they heard a noise. Jim was almost immediately awake, walking to Spock who had already his tricorder in his hand and was checking their surroundings.  
"What is it?" Jim asked.  
"I am not sure. There are non humanoid life forms nearby. We should go see what is happening."  
Jim nodded and went to the rest of the landing party to wake them up. He didn't want them to split up until he knew what was happening. Too many disastrous outcomes to several missions on unknown planets with people of his crew dead had taught him that.  
Spock eyed him. He would have found it better to take only two people to investigate, because the chances of being seen were smaller but he knew why the captain acted the way he did, and didn't say anything.  
After a short time the landing party came close to the sound and what they saw wasn't reassuring. Huge spiders were everywhere, and they appeared to have victims in the trees. They were agitated but none of them could figure out why. And Spock's tricorder registered one life form that couldn't be seen.  
Before anyone could do anything one victim fell to the ground and was unwrapped by a small figure. The two of them hurried to save the others. Spock counted that there were thirteen of the small figures. Spock could see one small figure urging the others to run away but for some unknown reason the figure didn't really succeed.  
They lost the group of very strange beings and continued their walk through the forest. Nothing worth mentioning happened until they came to a palace with yet another indigenous species acting a little agitated. Spock and Jim hid in the bushes and moved their way to the gate to see and hear what was going on. What they heard was that this new species had taken captive the group they themselves had seen earlier on their trip. They went onto the pathway and were soon stopped by one of the guards.  
"Halt! What is a man doing in your company? Where are you from? I have never seen you in this forest before."  
"I am from another region and have travelled far. I must have lost my way," Spock answered.  
"Very well. The king will know what to do with you. But the man can't go in. Only elves are allowed inside. Come with me."  
"I am afraid that is not possible. I have something to discuss with your king," Jim objected.  
"I'm sure your friend can do that, too. You must understand that this place is dangerous and therefore we can't let anyone in unless he is one of our kin," came the answer. Jim wanted to say more but Spock interrupted him: "His logic is sound. We ourselves have seen the spiders."  
Spock exchanged a look with Jim who nodded. He still didn't like the idea but this would be the easiest way to get to know the ways on this strange planet. Spock had still his communicator after all.  
After Jim watched Spock go into the palace he went back to the landing party who were waiting a little way off.  
"Did you get to know anything?" McCoy asked.  
"No. But Spock just got invited into the palace. They seem to think he's one of them. And humans aren't allowed in," Jim answered.  
"That's gotta be a first! This is the first planet we've come across where someone thinks Spock is actually one of them. But he can take care of himself. You know that." That bloody hobgoblin better get back alive. McCoy thought. He knew that Jim wouldn't be himself if something happened to Spock.


	2. Chapter 2

Spock followed the elves, as they called themselves, into the palace and still couldn't quite understand why they thought that he was one of them. What he could understand was the look in Jim's eyes as he had watched him go. Jim always worried when Spock was alone on a foreign planet, even if it was usually Jim who got into trouble, not Spock. He was glad that Jim had Doctor McCoy with him this time, because he was the only other person who had ever been able to keep Jim out of the worst of trouble and he was the only person who was able to patch him together when he hurt himself. Considering this thought Spock made a note to himself to suggest that they always had a member of the medical staff on landing parties to care for injuries. He just didn't understand why he hadn't thought about this earlier as there rarely was a mission where no one was injured. And that was a mystery all to himself. He had heard from other starships that they only had injuries on 30% of their missions.  
When he came into the palace he arrived in time to see that the small humanoid (he was called a dwarf) was being interrogated for attacking a festivity concerning which the dwarf had no knowledge about. When the dwarf refused to say anything, he was dragged off to the dungeons. Spock suspected the other lifeforms they had seen on the tricorder had been dragged there as well.  
"And now to you. You have to come from an elf clan far from here. What is your name?" The king of the elves asked him.  
"My name is Spock," he answered. He couldn't say anything more, because he didn't know anything about the geography or the history of the planet to which they had beamed down. Luckily for him, thanks to the universal translator, he was able to understand what they were saying which made matters easier.  
"You don't say much, do you?" the elf commented. Spock just looked at him.  
"There isn't much more I can tell you," he answered.  
"Well. I shall have to guess. And my guess would be that you work with that stubborn dwarf; and we should put you in the dungeon as well. You will find the company nice, given that you are just as stubborn as those dwarves down there," the elf said and Spock was escorted to the dungeons. He could easily have nerve-pinched them but in the whole building were too many elves in to make escape simple. He decided simply to follow them and found himself soon in a cell with the dwarf he had seen only a few minutes earlier. Luckily for him the dwarf was sleeping. This meant he was able to get a quiet message to Jim, hoping that he wouldn't try to get him out.  
"Commander Spock to Captain Kirk," he whispered.  
"Kirk here. Spock? Is everything alright?" came the concerned reply.  
"I am in the dungeons because the king of this place thinks I am working in collusion with some dwarves he has also imprisoned. There are too many to risk a rescue. You will have to return to the Enterprise without me," Spock answered.  
"No way. We'll find a way. We can't beam you out without the others seeing you. But we won't leave without you. Keep us posted about your situation. Kirk out."  
Spock sighed. He could tell from the sound of Kirk's voice that he really would do everything to free him. But even Jim Kirk would have to admit that that wasn't possible at that moment unless he violated the Prime Directive.  
"Who are you? What's an elf doing locked up?" asked the dwarf who had woken up.  
"I am Spock and our captors seem to be under the impression that I am working with you and your companions," Spock answered.  
"Well, we both know you don't but I could use some help," the dwarf said.  
"As the options of escape appear to be limited, I do not know how I could help you." Spock answered.  
"We will get out eventually. We have a hobbit with us who has a talent to get us out of tricky situations."  
"What is a hobbit?" Spock asked, hoping it was not a foolish question to ask.  
"Hobbits are small people. I didn't know they existed until a short time ago either," the dwarf answered.  
Spock nodded and waited patiently until said hobbit arrived, the scientist in him curious about what kind of creature this hobbit might be.


	3. Chapter 3

"Jim, what is it?" McCoy asked, seeing the worried expression on his friend's face after he went away to speak on his communicator.  
"Spock's in the dungeons. I don't know what happened, but he can't get out." Jim turned to him: "We have to get him out of there, Bones."  
"But how? There are too many of them," McCoy answered. He was worried by the desperate look in Jim's face. It almost seemed to him that Jim couldn't function without Spock. Well. I have seen Spock's face often enough when Jim went missing.  
"I'm tempted to beam him out, Bones. But that would violate the Prime Directive and I'm not ready to go there...yet," Jim whispered to him.  
"Let's just hope you're never ready to do that. That would ruin your career. And that's something you won't let happen," McCoy answered even if he had the feeling that Jim would be able to do just that, if he had the right reasons to do that.  
Jim just nodded and went to the others to inform them of the situation, adopting his calm "in-control" command persona. McCoy admired him for that. He was worried sick and yet nobody noticed. That was something only one other person of the Enterprise crew was able to do. But maybe McCoy was the only one able to see the little signs that Spock didn't leave his mind for one second.  
"Captain. Maybe we could sneak in at night," One of the security officers, Miller was his name, suggested.  
"How? There are too many of them inside. Not to mention how we make it inside," Jim answered. Miller obviously hated sitting there and doing nothing because he went on: "But we could investigate where the dungeons are and maybe we can sneak in then." Jim just nodded and let the man go on his investigation. That was as good a plan as any, and he could understand the man's need for action. Sitting there and doing nothing didn't really suit him either. He could feel McCoy's gaze on him but decided to ignore it.


	4. Chapter 4

Spock didn't know how long he had been sitting in the cell, and his cellmate wasn't the talking type. The time passed in complete silence until he heard something at the door and stood up. It wasn't one of the elves but a small man or a child (Spock wasn't really sure about that) with no shoes but a warm smile on his face, similar to the one Jim had sometimes when he wanted to reassure his crew. He stared at Spock for a second before turning to the other one in the cell: "Thorin! Hurry up! I have found a way to escape. The others are waiting behind the corner." Then he pointed at Spock: "What about him?"  
"He can come with us." Thorin turned to Spock. "That's if you are capable of defending yourself. None of us will be able to help you. These elves are stronger and faster than any of us."  
"I am capable of taking care of myself. But I would advise you to hurry. I don't think these elves, as you call them, will be off guard long."  
Now that all of them were standing Spock could see that the dwarf was a little taller than the small man but still much smaller than him.  
The small group was led by the hobbit they called Bilbo who was the only one who was able to walk silently, much to Spock's annoyance. He was on constant alert and listening for anyone coming in pursuit after the group. He sensed that Bilbo was also tense. Soon they were in a room where the elves stored barrels and Bilbo ordered them to climb inside, one barrel per dwarf. It soon came to light that there were no barrels for Spock and Bilbo.  
"Hang on to me and I shall hang on to one of the barrels. I have more strength than you," he told the hobbit, who was eyeing him a little suspiciously. Given the fact that Spock at first sight looked like one of the elves he could understand Bilbo's suspicion. He saw that the small one had made a decision, and nodded. He put a hand on Spock's belt where he normally kept his phaser (which he had given to Jim before being taken into the palace).  
The water was colder than he had anticipated and it would be difficult to maintain his strength, but he had no choice but to hold on. He just wished he could tell Jim what had happened but he could not communicate with him at the moment. Jim was intelligent and had found him a hundred of times before; He would do so again this time. Deep down Spock sensed a feeling he couldn't identify, which irritated him a bit but he put the thought aside as he had more pressing matters at hand at the moment.


	5. Chapter 5

Just like Spock, Jim had lost all sense of time. All he could think of was how he could get Spock out. None of them had found a way to the dungeons from the outside, and McCoy's voice of reason was the only thing that kept him from simply phasering Spock out. He was worried sick, and couldn't explain why. Spock had proven over and over again that he could take care of himself but the thought of Spock being imprisoned in a dungeon wasn't doing his imagination any good.  
"Stop it, Jim!" McCoy took his wrist and forced him to sit down after he had paced in circles long enough. "You are not going to help him but you sure as hell will drive me crazy if you keep this up."  
"I hate sitting here and not being able to do anything. What if they torture him?" he almost snapped at his friend.  
"He has this healing trance thing. He'll be fine. I'm more worried about you at the moment." McCoy answered but before Jim could say anything in reply a member of the security team, who had been watching the entrance to the palace, came to him: "There has been an outbreak from the dungeons. The Elves are going out looking for some dwarves. Apparently they have escaped in barrels which are disappeared. I would suggest we look in the river. From what I heard the barrels were in a room with a connection to the water."  
Jim nodded and ordered everyone to come with him. It didn't take long to find the river but the barrels were long gone, of course.  
"Scotty. Can you tell me where Spock is at the moment?" he asked his Chief Engineer who had stayed on board the Enterprise.  
"We are getting his life signs. He seems to be in a little town on a lake, sir. Just go west from where you are now and you will find him," came the reply.  
"You heard him. Off we go. But take care. We don't know what else is hiding in these woods," Kirk said to the rest of his team.  
Watching him, McCoy had to suppress a smile. Jim was his normal self again after he had received news that Spock was fine, from what they could tell, and that he had apparently escaped along with whoever had been imprisoned with him. He had made the same observation with Spock, too, when it was Jim who had gone missing. When are these fools gonna admit it that they love each other?


	6. Chapter 6

The water was colder than Spock had anticipated. He would have to monitor his controls to ensure he wouldn't get sick. But there was nothing he could do at the moment. Luckily the hobbit, who was holding onto him, wasn't heavy. He almost didn't notice he was there at all, in fact. At some point they arrived at a city which was built on a lake. During an unwatched moment Bilbo and Spock were able to release the dwarves who were complaining a bit about the barrels smelling like apples and fish. But apart from being somewhat battered from their barrel-ride they were fine.  
"What are you planning to do now?" Spock asked the dwarves.  
"We will have to get to the mountain, get past the dragon and get back the Arkenstone. That's why he have our burglar with us," Thorin, the leader of the dwarves answered.  
Spock noticed that Bilbo didn't seem too happy to be labeled as a thief. He was wondering whether the dwarves had forced the small one to do something he didn't want. He had never seen a dragon before although he remembered Doctor McCoy mentioning creatures like that after he had read a fictional novel from Earth's 20th century.  
"Are you coming with us?" the dwarf asked him.  
Spock didn't answer. He couldn't interfere. But to let Bilbo all alone walk into a dangerous situation? He valued life in all its diversity. Although the hobbit didn't seem to belong to one of the most intelligent species, he still was a nice person (much nicer than the dwarves).  
Thorin lost his patience and said finally: "Whatever. Do whatever you want; as long as you don't get into our way."  
After that, Spock had a little time on his own. He flipped open his communicator: "Spock to Captain Kirk."  
"Spock! Thank God, you're ok! We are on our way. Scotty was able to locate your biosigns and we are on our way now," came the relieved voice of his Captain and friend.  
"I am here until morning. They are planning to send the Hobbit into a dragon cave to get something. I am planning on going with him. Maybe I can learn what this is all about. It seems a lot of effort for one item. Furthermore, the hobbit is a small creature, who is likely to get into more trouble than he can handle," Spock answered  
"Be careful. We will wait in the town where you are now," Jim sounded a bit worried, but Spock could tell that he didn't want Spock to know that he was. Of course he knew. He knew what Kirk sounded like in every mood but he didn't say anything more and ended the communication.


	7. Chapter 7

"I bet, that was the hobgoblin," McCoy said after Jim had finished talking into his ommunicator.  
"Yes," came the terse reply.  
"He's not hurt, is he?" McCoy was worried now, though he didn't know if he was more worried for the hobgoblin's safety or Jim's sanity. Probably both.  
"No. Not yet."  
McCoy forced Jim to look at him: "What is your problem then? We'll be in that town tomorrow morning and all will be well by then. Spock'll be fine until then."  
"He's going into a dragon's lair to assist a hobbit who is helping some dwarves to steal something," Jim finally said.  
"Did you just say dragon and hobbit?"  
"Yes. And don't tell me all is going to end well, because from what I read in books, dragons aren't pets. They are dangerous."  
"Jim. That guy's from Vulcan. He can take care of himself much better than you or me. We just wait in the town until he comes back. I'm sure it won't be long. Besides, I think I finally have a clue where we are. I'm just not so sure how that is possible."  
Jim gave him a questionable look. McCoy grinned and continued: "How much do you know about 20th century books, Jim?"  
"Not much. You are the one who's always reading them. What is your point? Do you think we landed in the world of one of your books?"  
"That's exactly what I think. Middle Earth, to be exact. It's just too long ago that I read the book to know exactly what's gonna happen."  
"Middle Earth? That explains why they think Spock's one of them. How much does Spock know about it?" Even if Jim didn't read as much Fantasy as his friend did, he had heard of Middle Earth, and the author who had written the books.  
"How am I supposed to know that? You are the one who is always hanging out with him. What do you guys do with all the time you spend together, anyway?"  
Jim gave him his "You-know-exactly-what-we're-doing"-look and didn't answer.  
"Anyway. Do you think Spock's in danger? Dragons breathe fire, after all," Jim asked his friend after the revelations had sunk in.  
"The guy's from Vulcan, one of the hottest planets I came across, so heat shouldn't be a problem. And he's intelligent, which means he knows how to take care of himself. So, no, you shouldn't be worried too much about him. He'll be here before you even noticed that he was gone in the first place," McCoy answered, knowing full well that at least the last part wasn't entirely true, but he desperately wanted to cheer Jim up. A Captain in a bad mood was the least they needed right now, and with Spock gone, he was the only one who could tell Jim things like that (one reason was, because he was his best friend and the second reason was, him being CMO, which had its advantages sometimes.).  
"You're exaggerating. A fire breathing dragon could be a problem for him. He can get burns, you know?" Jim wasn't in the mood for jokes.


	8. Chapter 8

Spock climbed the mountain, in which the dragon slept, along with the dwarves and the hobbit. Spock began to wonder why he had made the illogical decision to come with them. But then, looking at the hobbit, he noticed, that he didn't really fit in with the others. Spock's respect for other life forms and his memories of how he himself had never really fit in on Vulcan either as a child kicked in. The hobbit surely required his help, and he was also sure that the dwarves would help themselves first if it came to dangerous situations.  
When they finally reached a platform of the mountain the dwarves began to search frantically for something. An entrance, Spock surmised, from the snatches of words that he heard: "Key" and "hidden door". But he couldn't make sense out of any of it. Bilbo apparently could, because he found what the dwarves were looking for.  
Once the dwarves had opened the door in the rock they all went inside. And then came the point where they sent Bilbo further on his own.  
Thorin turned to Spock: "Are you really keen on going with him? I won't guarantee your safety. Nor the hobbit's. Once you two are in, you are on your own."  
"I will accompany him. No need to concern yourself with my safety as I am fully capable of taking care of myself," Spock answered and followed the hobbit, who was already walking down the corridor. Not long after they started they reached a big cave and it didn't take long for Spock to see the dragon.  
Unfortunately the dragon woke up as soon as they arrived and seemed illogically chatty. But Bilbo seemed to get the hang of talking to the guy, found the Arkenstone and they went back to the dwarves.  
This was easy. No reason for Jim to be worried about me Spock thought. But due to the dwarves' obsession with gold everything went to hell soon after. The dragon suddenly broke out of the mountain and flew in the direction of the town on the lake...to where Jim was. Spock was staring after the dragon. But why was he surprised? If there is one constant in this whole universe it is Jim getting in trouble. And I can't warn him. JIM! The last word he almost screamed in his thoughts, happy nobody heard him and a little ashamed that his controls weren't as good as they were supposed to be at the same time.


	9. Chapter 9

The following day the rest of the landing party arrived at the Laketown waiting for Spock to arrive. There wasn't a warm welcome but they were given some food at least. And Doctor McCoy was getting worried about Jim who just didn't stop staring at the mountain where the dragon was supposed to be living (or sleeping). That much they had gotten out of the inhabitants, though they weren't very communicative otherwise.  
"Stop it, Jim! You're driving me nuts."  
"What? I'm not doing anything," Jim answered. He almost snapped at him.  
"Maybe you should have done something," McCoy answered calmly. This was as good a moment as any to raise the subject up and they couldn't do anything anyway right now.  
Jim stared at him. He clearly didn't know what he was talking about. But McCoy had his attention now.  
"You love him. And maybe you should tell him. Get it out in the open."  
"He's a Vulcan. He doesn't do love, or feelings in general."  
"Really? And because he doesn't do feeling he loses it whenever you get in trouble. Or insists that you are still alive when logic says it's not possible? How many times has there been some small hint of emotion from him and, always only when you are around? You have to talk to each other. You might be surprised, Jim. Really."  
Jim was just about to answer his question when suddenly the whole town became busy and people were shouting: "The dragon! The dwarves woke him up!"  
Jim turned around so quickly McCoy almost couldn't follow him. And then they saw the dragon coming.  
"Bones, get the others, get out of the city and beam back to the Enterprise now! I'll stay here and wait for Spock. Hurry! That's an order."  
Reluctantly, McCoy called the others and together they walked out of the township. I have a bad feeling about this, McCoy thought.  
Jim stared at the dragon and the mountain and had only one thought on his mind: "Spock! What happened up there?" Then something hit him on the head and everything went blank.


	10. Chapter 10

Spock couldn't see everything that happened in the town but what he saw wasn't very reassuring. The whole town was on fire, though at some point someone shot the dragon and he fell into the water. Once the dwarves were aware of that they went into the cave to examine the gold that the dragon had gathered. Bilbo seemed now to be accepted as a full member of the group. Spock saw this as a good time to say goodbye. He had to look after Jim, who was his top priority now.  
"I will leave you to your own devices now. The dragon is dead so you shouldn't have any more difficulties on your travels," he said to them.  
"You really come from far away, don't you? Safe travels," Thorin answered who still didn't know what to think of that strange guy who had ears like an elf but behaved very differently.  
After he had made sure that the dwarves and Bilbo couldn't hear him, he flipped open his communicator: "Spock to Enterprise!"  
"Scott here," came the reply, which told Spock that the Captain hadn't had the opportunity to beam back up yet.  
"Did you hear anything from the landing party, Mister Scott?"  
"The Captain ordered us to beam up. He wanted to wait for you in the town," McCoy informed him, who obviously was back on board, and on the bridge again. Spock still tried to figure out why, but he had made a guess that McCoy was worried something might happen to the Captain as soon as he set foot on a planet that wasn't Earth. Given past experiences he had to admit that the worries of the CMO were logical where Jim Kirk was concerned.  
"The town burned down. I am not there yet. But he should be on the shores of the lake. I will inform you when I have located him. Spock out."  
He tried to comm Jim but he didn't answer which could mean two things: either he had lost his communicator during the fire or he was lying unconscious somewhere. Spock tried not to think about the third possibility: that he could be dead. That wasn't an option. Jim Kirk, the man who had beaten so many battles simply didn't die in a fire.  
It took longer than he expected to get to the lake and once he had arrived there it was even more difficult to locate the survivors. Spock was sure he would meet Jim there. But as he watched all those humans around him he didn't see the one human he was looking for, the one human who meant more to him than he was able to admit even to himself.  
"Can I help you? You look like you are looking for a friend of yours?" An old man asked him.  
"Yes. A blond human. He was in the town when the dragon arrived," Spock answered and noticed that the man himself didn't look like he belonged into the town. He looked as much out of place as he felt.  
"They carried the wounded to that tent over there. Come with me."  
Spock followed the man, and was surprised to see not only humans but also some elves in the tent. In one corner he spotted a blond man, and sprinted right over to him. He had a big wound on his head and was unconscious, but alive. Then he took a closer look, and saw that this man wasn't Jim. He was wondering why he hadn't noticed this fact at once. Apart from the hair the two men looked nothing alike.  
"This is your friend?" the man asked. "They found him in the water."  
"No. He isn't," Spock answered. The man clearly wanted to make small talk, and asked him what Spock had been doing on that mountain. Surely no one would stay with the dwarves voluntarily?  
"Nothing. I thought that the hobbit, Bilbo, could use some assistance, because he didn't seem to be fully accepted by the others. But now he is."  
Spock observed the busy people around him and couldn't help noticing that some of them blamed the dwarves for what had happened to the city. This whole affair is far from over, he thought. Coming events would prove him right.


	11. Chapter 11

On the Enterprise Scotty was doing a balancing act, telling Command the barest bones of what they needed to know without revealing too much of what was actually happening. He was a master of obfuscation, but even his skills were being tested. The temporary Captain instructed the transporter chief to keep a constant lock on Spock's biosigns. Unfortunately he was moving around too much to make a guess whether he had found the Captain or not. It was no use trying to get the Captain's biosigns as there were too many humans walking around.  
"He'd better find him quickly. I don't think I can hold Command off our backs for much longer," Scotty said at some moment to no one in particular.  
"We can't leave them," McCoy  
"Once we leave, they are stranded on that planet. There is no technology that will enable them to build a something flyable," Sulu added after he had exchanged a look with Chekov.  
"You are right. All of you. But at some point I will have to explain to them what is happening here!" Scotty sounded desperate. And he didn't have to explain who he meant when he had said "them".  
"Do you think one of them is hurt?" Scotty asked the doctor.  
"I don't think Spock is. I'm not worried about him that much. At first sight he looks like one of the indigenous people there. Jim probably is, considering his luck with away missions," McCoy answered thoughtfully.  
"Well. We have two or three more days before we have to say Starfleet Command something. Until then, try to make contact at least with one of them," Scotty decided and went off to engineering where he felt more comfortable than in command on the bridge.


	12. Chapter 12

Not much time passed until Spock's thoughts were proven true. The elf king arrived at the lake and together with the people of the Laketown joined forces to get some compensation of the Laketown and some older issues. The dwarves weren't willing to give them anything. Spock didn't understand why the dwarves acted the way they did. He had seen the vast horde the dragon had gathered, and in his opinion there was more than enough gold to satisfy everyone. But he didn't say anything. He was foreign to this planet which meant there was a possibility that he didn't fully understand what was going on.  
Resolution of the crisis arrived in the form of Bilbo, who appeared suddenly in the middle of the night, and delivered to them the Arkenstone. The hobbit's attempt to head off a war had Spock's full understanding, even if his methods were a little unique. But then, the hobbit himself was unique, too.  
The next day the men and the elves tried to convince Thorin and showed him the Arkenstone. After a great debate Bilbo was banished from the mountain and came sadly to the elves and men.  
After the hobbit had delivered his news he went outside. Bilbo needed some time for himself. Seeing his distress Spock went to the hobbit, who was sitting under a tree, a few steps away from the outer tents and said to him. "Do not be distressed. You did what you thought was the right thing to do. Sometimes it takes more than one person to prevent things from happening."  
"They will fight. And all I want is peace and quiet," Bilbo answered.  
"That is all that every living being wants. But we do not always get what we want. You did what you were able to do, according to your gifts."  
That seemed to cheer the hobbit up. But he seemed to be generally in a good mood and Spock suspected that it Bilbo had known exactly what he was doing. Maybe all that had happened was that Bilbo had gotten a little homesick. Spock was soon distracted by the fact that an elderly man arrived at the scene. That man was treated by everyone with respect, but he didn't come with good news.  
"Gandalf!" one of the men said, at the same time an elf murmured, "Mithrandir."  
"Not before time," said another man. Spock thought his name was Bard.  
Gandalf ignored their greetings, his message urgent.  
"Listen to me. There are goblins and wargs approaching. They have heard the dragon has been slain, and are coming with the intent to expand their territory. You can either work together with the dwarves or you can lose everything."  
"I do not think that the men or the elves are the problem. These dwarves are stubborn," Spock said to him, raising his eyebrow. Clearly this man had to have noticed that, considering that he seemed to know every species on this planet.  
Gandalf turned his head to the voice he had just heard. There was a man sitting behind all the others. He clearly was observing what was going on around him, but reluctant to meddle too much in affairs that weren't his. He seemed a little out of place. At the same time he sensed that the man had a power of his own. Probably something concerning his hands (there had to be a reason the man didn't want to touch anyone). A power that he most likely hadn't told anyone present about. A wise move, because people had the tendency to despise the ones with greater powers than they themselves had even if they didn't say so openly (with exceptions of very close friends of his).  
Gandalf could tell that this wasn't someone who acted on emotions. He was far too controlled for that. Not many would be able to just sit there and listen quietly to endless discussions like that man had done. But he was also looking for someone or something. Though Gandalf had no idea what or who he was looking for, he knew that this man meant them no harm.  
At the same time Spock was having a close look on the old man and saw in an instant that the man was stronger than he appeared to be. Something he shared with that little hobbit, but for different reasons. And the man was old. Coming from a race that lived far longer than humans had taught Spock that sometimes people were a lot older than they looked for humans. But one had to look in the eyes of a person to notice it. And the eyes of the old man told him of wisdom, strength, and much more. He held an air of hidden power, as though he came from another place, this form a veil for his true reality. Like him, the man had clearly travelled far; like him the man wasn't entirely human. Spock could tell that the stick, that the man was holding, was much more than a walking stick, if it even was a walking stick at all.  
"You may be right about that," Gandalf finally answered. "What do you know about the dwarves?"  
"He came with them," one of the men answered for Spock.  
"Really? Then I think you have met a friend of mine," Gandalf answered, looking in Bilbo's direction with amusement and fondness.  
"Who would that be?" Spock asked him, curious which one of that strange group the man counted as a friend.  
"Bilbo."  
"He is a very interesting person with very unique way of dealing with problems." As if discerning that Gandalf was wondering how he'd ended up traveling with the twelve dwarves and a hobbit, he said, "As a matter of fact, I am looking for a friend of mine. He's a blond man and came here with me..."  
"Hey! Excuse me, but you are talking about me. I am right here, you know," the hobbit interrupted Spock. Gandalf's eyes twinkled.  
"Hail, and well met, Mr Baggins," Gandalf said. He turned back to Spock. "I haven't seen him. But I am sure he will be found. These men are good at finding strangers," Gandalf said. He and Bilbo moved off some way to the corner of the tent, Gandalf intent on hearing Bilbo's story. He was wondering why the hobbit had left his companions.


	13. Chapter 13

When Jim awoke he was completely alone on the shore of the lake. The last thing he remembered was that the dragon had flown to the town. With that thought came another: Spock. Where was he?  
When he took a look around he saw the broken remains of the town, rising charred and smoking from the fouled water of the lake. There was no one nearby. In the distance he could see things that could be tents. His vision was still a little blurry so he couldn't tell for sure.  
He flipped open his communicator: "Kirk to Enterprise."  
"Scott here. It's good to hear from you. Is Mr Spock with you?"  
"No. Is the rest of the landing party safely on board?"  
"We're all here, Jim. But you sound like something's wrong. What happened?" That was McCoy. Always on the bridge when I am missing, he thought.  
"Mr. Scott, I understand that you are under some duress in attempting to hold Starfleet Command off our backs. Please inform them that we have a transporter malfunction. Which means you have to repair it, and can't beam anyone up for the next few days."  
"But, sir. There's nothing wrong with it. Doctor McCoy and the others came through without any trouble at all." Jim could hear that Mr Scott was almost insulted by his comment.  
"I know, Scotty. But we have to give Starfleet Command a reason for the delay of departure. And the Enterprise can't leave this planet without her Captain and First Officer," Jim argued.  
"Well, if you put it like that. I still don't like it, but I will do as you say," came the reluctant reply after a few seconds of consideration.  
Jim smiled. He could always rely on Mr. Scott to do his best and the rest of the crew trusted him as well. There was no need to worry about his crew up on board his ship. But there was reason to worry about his one crewman and friend down here on the planet.  
He had no idea where Spock was right now which meant that he had to start searching where Spock had been before Jim had gotten that hit on the head: the mountain. The climb wasn't an easy one, especially with a hurting head, but somehow he managed it to the top.  
Suddenly he was stopped by a dwarf, or something like that. It had been a while since he last read a novel with dwarves in it. But that guy fitted the description he remembered pretty well.  
"Hey! What are you doing here? I thought you were all deciding how to get us out of here?" the dwarf asked.  
"What? I am looking for a friend. He was with you. Tall guy, pointy ears..." Jim started.  
"Black hair? He was with us, but he left us. Went down to the town," the dwarf answered, still not very friendly, but not as hostile as before either.  
Seeing the desperate look on Jim's face, he added: "Look, I don't know what you two are doing here, but let me give you one advice: things are going to be rough soon. Our cousins are coming and they'll help us to defend the mountain. Even the elves and the men combined couldn't take the mountain then. Tell them that."  
Jim nodded. He had no idea what this was all about. But as his number one priority was to find Spock anyway, he didn't really think about the meaning of the dwarf's words. That would only have increased his headache.  
He walked downhill to the tents he was seeing at the foot of the mountain. Someone had to know where Spock was. Now that he knew Spock was alive he felt positive that he would find him. The walk back down soon turned out to be more than he could handle in his present state. He almost made it to the tents. He had no idea how, though.  
Suddenly an old man appeared in front of him: "Ah! You must be the one Bilbo's friend was looking for. You can come with me."  
"Who are you?" was all he managed to get out. His headache got worse with every passing minute and he couldn't think straight.  
"My name is Gandalf. But questions can be answered later." The man took his arm and led him to one of the tents. Though there were many people in there it took him only a second to locate Spock.  
"Spock!"


	14. Chapter 14

The humans and elves were preparing for a war and Spock didn't like that. If they really started a war his chances of finding Jim would be getting very slim and Jim's chances of getting caught in the crossfire would be too high for his liking. But as he sat there, thinking about a solution, he heard Jim's voice. Jim only said his name, but he was alive.  
Spock turned around and saw his friend in the entrance. He looked exhausted, and had a wound on his forehead, but he was very much alive.  
"I see that he is your friend. And he has brought some disturbing news from the dwarves. They sent for help and their cousins are coming," Gandalf said with a smile in his direction, before turning to the elves and men to discuss the matters at hand.  
Spock went to Jim: "Lie down, Jim. You are tired and injured. I may not be a doctor, but I can do whatever I can to ensure it does not become worse."  
"I'm fine. Besides, I walked all the way up the bloody mountain and then back down again. I was worried sick about you, Spock." Jim even managed a weak smile.  
"You clearly are not 'fine'," Spock argued, and waited for Jim to counter against this statement. But instead he fell to the side, instantly fast asleep. Spock carried him to his bed (or what counted as a bed). There he would stay until Jim would wake up again.


	15. Chapter 15

While Spock was concerned about Jim, and didn't pay much attention to what was going on around him, his crewmates on the Enterprise did. They followed each move every party made. McCoy filled the gaps, where the sensors couldn't help them anymore. After hours of searching in the data banks McCoy had finally found the right book, and could tell his crewmates exactly what was going to happen. But he had his doubts that everything would happen exactly as it did in the book. How much had the appearance of Jim and Spock changed events down there? But neither Scotty nor the other members of the bridge crew listened to his concerns (that's what McCoy thought, at least).  
"How come a Doctor from a place that once was the southern part of the United States is so obsessed with 20th Century literature?" Sulu asked him. Like he's the right one to ask with his obsession with fencing, and stuff. McCoy thought.  
"I just like it. And it's not as conservative as it was 200 years ago, you know. People are ok with it, even if most of them don't like it," was all he said about the matter as Chekov and Sulu found out, who just couldn't stop asking questions until Scotty put a stop to it. They had much more pressing problems at hand, after all.  
Both McCoy's knowledge (with the help of the data banks), and their sensors gave them a clear picture of what was going on down there. What they didn't know was, what their Captain was doing, because there were far too many human bio signs to single him out. At least Spock was safe in one of the tents and didn't move much. But with his Vulcan strength he wasn't the one, anyway, the crew worried about.  
"Now the battle has begun. The elves will go one way and the rest of them the other. The goblins are trapped," said McCoy when the group by the lake split up and went to either side of the mountain.  
"How will it end?" asked Sulu.  
"As it did in the book, I hope," answered McCoy, wondering how his friend was doing.  
"What did happen in the book? You have to tell us. And don't keep it too short this time. That is the only clue we have at this point," Chekov argued. The Doctor had told them the story twice already, and he didn't want to hear the story a fourth time (the third time seemed unavoidable), because the Doctor had forgotten to tell them something important the time before.  
"Fine. But I'll keep this short nevertheless. Otherwise I could stand here all day and you still wouldn't get the whole picture. Besides, I still think that the presence of Jim and Spock has changed something.  
There are these dwarves in the mountain, and the elves and men down by the lake, who don't like the dwarves all that much. They are just preparing for a war when a wizard, Gandalf warns them of a danger in form of some goblins coming. Finally all of them decide to lay down all that stands between them to fight of the danger that is threatening all of them. Some cousins of the dwarves, and eagles, and a skin changer join in, and the Free Folk, as the alliance against the goblins is called, wins the war. The leader of the dwarves dies and the dwarves stay in the mountain."  
"Sounds a lot like a fairy tale to me," muttered Scotty under his breath.  
McCoy turned to him and said: "Well. You wanted me to tell what is in the book, and I did. Nobody said that's what's happening down there, but as someone pointed out before, that's the only clue we have."  
With that he left the bridge to prepare Sickbay for injuries with which Jim might come back. It didn't occur to him that Jim might get home uninjured, and that was the scariest thing of all: that he got used to the fact that his best friend almost always came home injured.


	16. Chapter 16

Unfortunately Spock couldn't stay with Jim for long. His help was needed on the battlefield. The trap the Free Folk had planned didn't work the way they had hoped due to the many goblins who outnumbered the Free Folk, as one of the men explained to him. As soon as Spock took a step outside he could see that the man was right. The goblins were already attacking from both sides. He was given a bow, the one weapon he could handle without too much difficulty. But he was reluctant to use it. Being able to use a weapon in self- defense, and going into battle were two different things, after all.  
Then suddenly Spock and the others heard a loud noise and out of nowhere Thorin and his dwarves from within the mountain came out, changing the up to this point well-regulated battle into utter chaos. To Spock all seemed lost at this point, but he didn't give up. That was something Jim, the man who didn't believe in no-win-scenarios, had taught him: somehow there was a way out of every difficult situation. Above the din of the battle he heard Bilbo's small voice crying (quite loudly for such a small fellow): "The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming!" He looked up, and sure enough the sky was suddenly full of large birds, swooping and diving, cawing their victory cries. At first he thoughts the birds were in league with the goblins until he saw that it wasn't the humans, elves, and dwarves that were afraid of the birds.  
Then he knew that the newcomers in the sky weren't a threat, but help. This planet really was full of the most interesting creatures. At this point Spock didn't even notice when a great bear joined the Free Folk against the goblins and finally the Free Folk won the battle, not without some losses.  
"Are you sure you aren't related to the elves? You didn't get a scratch," one of the men near Spock commented.  
"Very sure," was all Spock said, and went back to the tent, and watched from there the going-on after the battle. He had done his share and the rest was up to the inhabitants of the planet.


	17. Chapter 17

When Jim woke up, he didn't see Spock. But the good thing was that his headache had stopped, and he could finally move around without pain. So he stood up, and finally saw Spock watching what was going on outside.  
"Hey. What did I miss?"  
He finally succeeded in surprising the Vulcan, because Spock turned around a little faster than usual: "Jim! You look much better. The battle is over."  
"What battle? The one between the dwarves and the humans?"  
Spock then told him what had happened while Jim had been sleeping. It took some time for the news to sink in, but finally Jim answered: "Good. We can go home, then."  
Spock nodded. They didn't belong on this planet. But it took some time for them to be able to get away.  
Not everyone had survived the battle. One was Thorin Oakenshield, who had been fatally wounded. But he reconciled with Bilbo in the end. He had realized what the hobbit's intentions had been. The rest of the dwarves had decided to stay in the mountain.  
A few days later Bilbo met Jim, and the two of them got along well. That wasn't much surprising for Spock, because the two of them had similar personalities. Both of them were friendly and liked to laugh a lot.  
"I'm not the only one who missed the end of the battle," the hobbit said to Jim with a smile on his face, and Jim nodded in agreement.  
"You were very brave, you know that?" Jim told the hobbit when he was saying goodbye to him. Spock had found a quiet place to beam up for them.  
"Don't underestimate hobbits, James. Especially one with the name Baggins. There is more to them than meets the eye," Gandalf told him. He had heard what Jim had said to the hobbit.  
"Indeed. But I am afraid the two of us must return to our own home now," Spock agreed. Jim nodded, waved goodbye and walked off with Spock.  
When they arrived at the spot Spock had found, Jim suddenly stopped. Spock turned around and could see that something was bothering Jim.  
"What is it?" Spock asked him.  
"I... äh... just need to tell you something," Jim finally answered while taking a step closer to Spock. He knew he could ruin his friendship with what he was about to do. But since when was he someone who played safe? Jim knew that sometimes it was worth taking a risk. Gathering all his courage he took another step closer to Spock until he couldn't get any closer. There he paused for a moment before he took the final step and kissed Spock on the mouth.  
"Don't be mad at me. I just had to do it. We both came out of this unharmed, and I think I wanted to do this for a long time." Embarrassed, and sure that Spock would just order Scotty to beam them up, Jim stepped back and looked to the ground, as if he had found something very interesting there.  
Spock was surprised that Jim had kissed him, but he was glad that one of them had finally made the first move. He had been sure about his own feeling for a long time, but he hadn't been sure about Jim. Apparently, Jim had thought the same about Spock.  
Spock took Jim's chin and forced him to look back up: "I am not mad. This would have happened eventually."  
Jim looked a bit confused until Spock kissed him back and took Jim's hand. Both of them could now feel the feelings each of them had had buried deep down in fear the other one didn't feel the same way.


	18. Chapter 18

McCoy was in the transporter room when Scotty beamed Spock and Jim up, and knew at once that something between the two had changed. At first sight all looked normal, but he knew Jim long enough to see that Jim was happier than McCoy had ever seen him.  
None of them said anything, though. The first thing he did, was ordering Jim to sickbay to treat his head wound.  
"How did you get this, anyway?" he asked them when he was finished.  
"Dunno. Something hit me on the head. But it's not bad."  
"Are you the doctor now?"  
"I walked up and down that mountain, the headache is gone, so yeah, I know there is nothing wrong."  
"You're full of love-hormones. That's why you don't feel any pain," McCoy answered. It was meant as a joke, but he could see that he had touched a nerve.  
"How do you know that?" Jim asked him, wondering how his friend had found out. He knew that Spock hadn't told neither McCoy nor anyone else on the ship about what happened before he and Spock were beamed up. So how the hell did he figure that out?  
"Know what?"  
"You know, that... Spock and I..." Jim started.  
"Thank God in heaven. Finally. So all it took was dragon, some dwarves, elves, and a hobbit to get you two together?" McCoy shook his head.  
"I guess." Kirk shrugged.

The next few days McCoy didn't see Jim or Spock but from what several crew members told him, the two of them were practically glued together. Where one of them was, the other one was within eyesight. It left McCoy wondering what really had happened on that planet after he himself had beamed back up. It was almost like both of them were afraid to let the other one out of sight.  
After one week had passed, he finally saw the two of them in the mess hall and just couldn't help himself: "Spock! I see you finally found out you have feelings after all?"  
"I do not understand the question," was all Spock said in reply, and turned to leave.  
Before following Spock, Jim turned around and gave McCoy and apologetic look: "Sorry, Bones."  
"No, you're not."


End file.
